Martha Cohen art collection to be auctioned off
The main attraction figures to be the collection of the late Martha Cohen, one of Calgary's more towering art patrons. It turns out that Cohen, one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Arts Commons, also had a good eye for paintings.
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Art collectors are in for a special Sunday.
That’s because starting at 1pm (following a weekend’s worth of previews), a few good masterpieces will be up on the auction block at Mount Royal University, says auctioneer Doug Levis.
The main attraction figures to be the 30-piece collection of the late Martha Cohen, one of Calgary’s more prominent art patrons of the past 50 years. It turns out that Cohen, one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Arts Commons, also had a good eye for paintings.
“We also have local examples of (English-born Canadian painter and printmaker) W.J. Phillips,” he adds, “as well as (southern Alberta painter) Janet Mitchell, which were part of the Cohen Collection.”
The auction will also feature a number of high-profile works by artists such as Emily Carr, William Kurelek and a substantial collection of contemporary works, including several by photographer Edward Burtynsky.
Another significant collection being auctioned Sunday belonged to the late Jim Coutts, formerly one of the chief advisors to the first Prime Minister Trudeau.
“He donated all of his artwork to the University of Lethbridge,” says Levis, “and so we are selling these on behalf of the university for funds for the Jim Coutts Centre in Nanton.”
Levis says the unusual number of masters in this auction make this crop of paintings a real bumper crop.
“We don’t always have these masters,” he says. “I would say we’ve been exceptionally lucky to be asked by these various parties to help with the sale of these items.”
Cohen and her husband Harry were instrumental in getting the Arts Commons built in the early 1980’s. She spent eight years, along with Vera Swanson and Sandra LeBlanc, raising the private funding to get the centre built.
That was only one of Cohen’s many contributions to the community, says Levis.
“I was reading something,” Levis says, “(where I) saw that Harry hosted a million dollar fundraiser for the Calgary Foundation in the (19)70’s – and this is probably when they had $300,000, $400,000 in their bank account. They raised $2 million, so (they) substantially increased the Calgary Foundation’s asset base.
“And both Martha and separately Harry were (also) members of the Order of Canada,” he says, “in recognition of their community involvement – and of course the Martha Cohen Theatre is named after her – but she was also involved in various things in the art community.”
While the auctioneers around town are being kept hopping selling off no-longer-needed oil services equipment, and giant trucks, Levis says he doesn’t expect a bunch of masterpieces to come up for sale from boarded-up corner offices – at least not yet.
“There’s been some reorganization of companies,” he says, “that’s resulted in our getting things – but it’s not like they’re selling their paintings to pay for their staff.”
If anything, he says, the cooling oil market could mean some sweet deals for art collectors Sunday.
“We’re well aware,” says Levis, “of the economics of the day, so we’ve tried to keep our estimates and reserves in recognition of that and tried to be conservative (in terms of price expectations).”
Art Preview & Auction
Auction at 1 p.m., Sunday Nov. 8
Roderick Mah Centre, Ross Glen Hall
4825 Mount Royal Gate SW
Full preview at: http://www.levisauctions.com/
shunt@calgaryherald.com
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